Small claims limit to rise in April

Posted 15/02/2013

As of 1 April, a number of changes to the court rules for bringing claims will kick in. One of the key changes is the increase in the small claims limit from £5,000 to £10,000 for non injury claims (we are still not clear what the limit will be for injury claims). Currently, if the value of a case is £5,000 or less, it will be heard in the small claims court. From 1 April 2013, this will increase to £10,000.The small claims court generally aims to deal with cases as quickly as possible. It is intended to be less formal and rigid, and user friendly so that individuals can prepare cases themselves without legal representation, if they wish to.The small claims court ‘no-costs’ rule means that both sides (whether they win or lose) pay their own legal fees. The changes being brought in are likely to result in more individuals feeling that they have no choice but to represent themselves – for example, in relation to a building contract which has gone wrong. The higher the value of a case, the more complex it is likely to be, so the likelihood is that we will see more individuals trying to bring complex cases themselves.District Judges will have to manage and try these difficult actions, without the cases being prepared for trial by solicitors and this is likely to result in delays. The result will be frustration both for judges and litigants, and the court system getting clogged up.In our experience, there are a number of issues with individuals presenting cases themselves – for example, a case can be lost simply because documents have not been prepared and presented to the court properly or a key detail – which is actually a determining factor in a case – being omitted because it is thought to be insignificant.My advice to anyone who may be planning to bring a claim is to seek legal advice sooner rather than later.For further information, please contact our Dispute Resolution team.